


The One

by KittenBlueStudios



Series: Mass Effect 3 One-Shots [3]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Developing Friendships, First Meeting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-01 16:18:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17870576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittenBlueStudios/pseuds/KittenBlueStudios
Summary: Garrus Vakarian really doesn't see the need for security detail at a graduation party. He also didn't see the need for a party for graduating. Oh well, being in C-Sec meant sometimes getting the boring jobs.





	1. Chapter 1

Garrus Vakarian knew that the Alliance had the N7 program. He knew that the Alliance was the human military. He knew the Alliance had various other programs in specialized fields.   


He knew all of this.   


He even knew that the humans held parties often—for various occasions. It seemed relatively normal for them, unlike his own people who only held parties at very important events. And never in a public place like this unless it was something very important.

 

For the humans to hold a graduation party seemed ridiculous. Even if it was for the renowned N7 graduation group.

 

Pallin had given him and the rest of the team strict instructions: stand guard in Purgatory and do not, under any circumstances, allow the N7 graduates to get out of hand.

 

The graduating class was very small—containing two males and a female. But, still, C-Sec was to make sure no harm came to them or others. Apparently, years back, some N7 by the name of Ryder had to break up a biotic fight between two of his classmates in the middle of Chora’s Den.

 

It had taken weeks to fix, and the two N7’s had been dishonorably discharged.

 

Now, it seemed...boring.

 

The two males were stalking around, talking to bar going females of their species, not really causing trouble. Obviously, they were looking to blow off some steam.

 

The female, however, looked disgruntled in her seat, crossing her arms and tapping her finger restlessly. Her fringe—hair, he recalled, was spilling down over her shoulders in loose waves. Her lips were painted a coral color, and it still seemed odd to him the species tended to paint themselves in such a way. Her eyes, a dark green in color, seemed brighter with the dark black that lined them. Was her skin naturally so dark around her eyes? It was possible, with those hairs that grew there.

 

His mandibles clacked as he watched her curiously. She wasn’t dressed as the other females in the bar, who wore dresses and skirts that didn’t seem to cover hardly anything. She wore a red sleeveless shirt that had buckles in the front. He could tell the shirt squeezed those...breast things on her chest and pushed them upwards, but the interesting part of the strange shirt was how it made her waist so small.

 

Smaller than he’d seen on any other human at least.

 

He had to admit, it was attractive, though in an odd, alien way. The oddities didn’t end with that, however. She also wore these strange dark pants that looked...a little shiny. Almost metallic. The pants clung to her hips, and every time she stood to get another drink, he could tell it accented her backside in a way Turians never could understand fully.

 

Her hips were rather wide...and the hip bones that poked over her pants, peeking out from under her shirt now and again were strangely...pretty. For a human.

 

He watched as she pulled on a jacket—one that matched her pants—and looked around. Green clashed with blue as his eyes met hers and he fidgeted a bit when a slow smile came across her lips.

 

She ordered a drink and walked purposely over to him. Her smile never faltering.

 

“You look bored.” She said, coming to a stop in front of him.

 

“Not at all.” He lied, somewhat glad she was human and not Turian when the lie echoed in the nervousness underlying his subharmonics. She raised an eyebrow at him.

 

“Sure you aren’t. Well, I have chosen you for an important mission anyway.” She said, bringing up her omnitool, not bothering to take a sip of her drink yet. “Here’s my hotel room information.” She said, winking. “I’m about to do something really stupid.”

 

“Uh—what?” Garrus said, blinking.

 

She held up her drink, and his mandibles spread for a moment before clacking back into place. He jerked his head back as he tasted the strong particles in the air—beyond the normal pheromones and alcohol the air of bars usually tasted like—it was a Krogan Bomb.

 

A couple drops of Ryncol in a tall glass of Bourbon. “No.” He said, eyes widening.   


“Only thing that can get me drunk off my ass—and you can get me the hell out of this shit hole, Mister Officer.”

 

Garrus reached out to stop her, but she danced just out of reach and downed the infernal concoction.

 

And giggled.

 

“Thaaaaaaaat’s the good stuff.” She said, a smiling. “Now, it’ll start taking effect soon, b-biotics an-welp. It’s gone an-an...d...yeah dat’s the good shit. I’m….gonna—whoa dere’s t-two of ya.”

 

Garrus growled, grabbing her arm as she almost fell backwards. He took the glass from her and set it on a nearby table. He tapped his visor to activate the com system.

 

“Got one very drunk N7. Permission to leave post and take this one back to her place?” Garrus asked, and Pallin gave a snort.

 

“The female? Shepard. Athena Shepard. Alright, Vakarian, make sure she makes it home and you’re dismissed for the night. Do not let that human out of your sight, she’s...troublesome.”

 

“Affirmative, Vakarian out.” Garrus said in a clipped voice, tapping his visor again and seeing her hotel information. “You’re troublesome, huh?” He said to the intoxicated female who giggled.

 

“O-Only soooometimes.” She managed, grabbing onto his arm. “You got s-some pretty eyeballs.” She said before he began leading her out of the club. “Ooooh, I forgots you were ta-takin’ me ‘ome.”

 

“Yeah, come on, you’re wobbling all over the place.”   


“Y-yep!” She said, popping her lips as she said the ‘p’ sound. Then repeating the sound before giggling.

 

Garrus sighed as he got her into his car—he’d already planned on trying to make a get away from the stupid security detail job anyway. At least it was ending sooner rather than later, and he wouldn’t have to write a report about anything. Thank the Spirits.

 

As he entered the driver’s seat of the vehicle he watched as she struggled with her seat belt. He raised a brow plate as she fiddled with it for a good five minutes before it clicked into place. She raised her arms in the air happily. “I did it!”

 

He shook his head and buckled himself in before pulling into traffic and making his way to her hotel. “I don’t get why humans are so impulsive...” He muttered under his breath, not noticing her grin.

 

“Impulsive moments make life fun, Mister Officer.” He glanced at her, unsure if she was still drunk with that statement. “Besides, my impulsive moments like this rarely last. I’m already sobering up.”

 

“Sobering up from _Ryncol?”_ He asked, glancing over at her again. She was looking over at him with a smile. 

 

“I’m a special case.” She said with a shrug. “No dextro-allergies, no side effect from other species’ foods—including alcohol—and really, _really_ weird biotics. I won’t try Ryncol straight—but I can certainly drink it in small doses. My ten minutes of reckless abandonment is up.”

 

“So you just wanted to ditch the place, why not just leave?” He asked and she shrugged. 

 

“Jackson and Thompson would have been on my case about being no fun.” She wrinkled her nose with distaste. “Though their idea of fun is drunk sex, and that is definitely not on my go-to list.”

 

“Any reason why?” He asked, changing lanes. 

 

“I don’t have the luxury of time for a relationship, and I don’t do one-night stands.”

 

“So, you just don’t? At all?” He asked. It seemed so...foreign. Alien. 

 

“My mother use to tell me something, something that stuck. ‘Your body is a temple, treat it like one.’ Of course I had a few boyfriends, back in training while we were all stuck together. However, lessons were learned. I’m a one man kind of woman, and I need a one woman kind of man.” She said, shrugging. “I’ll go without to find my person—they’re out there somewhere.”

 

“That...oddly makes sense. In a strange, alien sort of way. You’re waiting to find your bond-mate.” He said, his mandibles clicking. “We have some like that, I guess. Romantics.”

 

“Hmm, I don’t know if it’s about romance more than...stability? I want someone who’ll deal with my shit and not be shitty about it? I guess?” She said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “I don’t know. Just someone who sticks around.”  
  


“No dreams about kids or finding ‘the one’?” He asked as they pulled into the parking area for her hotel.   
  


“Pretty sure my ‘one and only’ is going to be another species or some shit.” She said, crossing her arms. “Had to fight for everything else, probably going to be a struggle to find a relationship worth while anyway.”

 

Garrus chuckled. “Probably right about that. Knowing my luck, it’ll be some stuck up Asari Matriarch or something crazy.”  
  


“I know, right?! Well, this is my stop, good luck finding your Asari.”  
  


“Don’t end up with a Krogan, Shepard. Don’t let the Ryncol sway your feelings.” He said, and she laughed. 

 

“But Ryncol is great! It gets me out of terrible parties!” She said with a wink. “See you around, Mister Officer.”

  
“Name’s Vakarian. See you around, Shepard.”


	2. A Good Idea

Garrus Vakarian was many things. He was a C-Sec officer, a top of the line sniper, a sought after bachelor of the Vakarian clan, witty, sarcastic, hell, he could even say he sometimes had a terrible sense of humor. If there was one thing Garrus was not, it was a flirt. He knew this, understood it, and came to terms with it long ago. 

Not that he had ever needed to flirt, females tended to want to get him in bed often enough.

However, on the Citadel there was a distinct lack in Turian women. Most of their women were sent planet side, making use of their mind rather than brawn. And those who did train for military often ended up as stealth agents. It prevented the female population from dropping too much and harming birth rates. Turian families usually only have one or two children to begin with, if that. Turian women, like their men, were keen to keep their jobs--an 11 month pregnancy put a damper on that. 

Not to mention pregnancies were painful on Palaven, given the expanding of skin, it made for uncomfortable first-time radiation burns. This was needed to help the fetus develop their natural plating, however. 

Still, it made it incredibly awkward now that Garrus had been stressing over his latest cases. It wasn't that the cases were difficult--after all, he was still trying to climb the ranks--no, it was that they weren't difficult  _at all._

Worse was, he wasn't attracted to the other races on the Citadel. Yes, Asari seemed kind of Turian like, but he saw so much...human in their torso. Too wide. Too squishy. Weird 'breasts'.   
  
Still, eventually, he found himself awkwardly walking into Chora's Den.   
  
It wasn't the nicest place on the Citadel, but it would work for finding someone to blow off steam with...if he could get over the obvious alien differences. He sighed as he sat at the bar and gave Lutis his order. Lutis was a friendly sort, always chatting with the ladies at the bar, he'd...probably hook him up with someone. 

Maybe. 

This was not a good idea.

He inwardly groaned as he downed his blue tinted drink and ordered another. 

It wasn't long before someone plopped down beside him. "Yo, Lutis! I need a gummy bear! Hold the cherry and add a bit of that good melon stuff, okay?" The person next to him shouted, causing him to blink and look up. Green eyes looked over at him and the human smiled. 

"Well, if it isn't good ol' Vakarian makin' the rounds!" Shepard said, slapping his back with enough force that he felt his back plating vibrate. He gave a soft snort. 

"I thought you couldn't drink enough for your biotics." He was stating it more than asking, taking a look at her more...eccentric choice in wardrobe for the night. She had on leather pants so tight that it may as well been poured on like liquid, which would match the shine if he thought about it. He couldn't see much more than that, since her matching leather jacket was zipped up and covering her torso, but he did see two gold chains looping over her right hip.  

She winked at him and looked over to Lutis. "Just visiting a friend. Oi! Lutis! Don't ignore me, ya giant raptor!" She said, causing the red-marked Turian to laugh from his place making drinks. 

"A little busy, sweetheart, why don't you just cuddle up to Vakarian there? He'd show you a good time if you let him!" Lutis said, loudly, causing Shepard to guffaw. 

"Trying to get me laid isn't going to help! Now, hurry up and stop showing off to the pretty Asari! You can go flirt with her after I get my drink!" Shepard snarked, causing Garrus to chuckle. 

"Bad day?" Garrus asked and she grinned. 

"Nah, asshole over there wants me to sing in a bit while the DJ's switch out. It'll be enough for one song, and I owe him one." Shepard said, jerking a thumb to Lutis who was making his way back over to them with their drinks. 

"Here you go, sweetheart. And here's your drink, Vakarian. Here to watch the show?" Lutis asked Garrus as Shepard began sipping at her drink. 

"I didn't even know there was going to  _be_ a show until just now." Garrus replied, smirking. "Do you even sing, Shepard?" He asked and Shepard grinned. 

"Don't be doubting my many talents! I'm rather popular!" Shepard said, checking her Omnitool for the time. "In fact, stick around for a couple more minutes and you'll see! You'll have to grab a table, though, if you want to actually  _watch._ I sing up top." She said, pointing upwards.

Lutis chuckled. "If it were more than just the one song, we'd be getting a lot more humans tonight." 

"Well, then, I better stick around if it's so good." Garrus said, amused. 

"Do I detect sarcasm? Oh, C-Sec, I'll have to give you somethin' to remember me by, then, won't I? Oh, Lutis, usual deals were made for this. If anyone asks, I'm Selina Kyle." 

"Yes, yes, sweetheart. I know how you work. Might want to get ready." 

"Of course." She said, pulling a mask out of her jacket pocket. The masquerade-like mask covered only the upper half of her face. It seemed to be made of lace with odd pointed 'ears' coming up from it. It clicked, after a while, that she had on a fancy cat mask. She winked at the bartender before going to climb up to the upper stage. As she made her way up, Garrus spotted a table not too far and not too close, and sat down at it. He watched as she made it to the top and pressed in a communications device into her ear. 

"Alright, boys, we have a special guest today!" A DJ called out over the comm system as the music waned down. "She's here for just one song, as a special event this evening! Give it up for Selina Kyle!" 

Shepard smirked, raised an arm up and music began. Her black boot tapped on the stage to the beat and her head bobbed side to side in tandem. 

"Well, I'm an eight ball shootin' double-fisted drinkin' son of a gun." She started singing, unzipping her jacket and throwing it open, revealing a deep forest-green corset that bound her waist almost as small as a Turian's, while pushing up her breasts into a black little slip of fabric that barely covered anything. He heard himself take in a sharp breath, but hadn't realized at first that it had been  _him._

"I wear my jeans a lil tight, just to watch the lil boys come undone!" As she sang, her hands slipped down her thighs, erotically bending at the knee and spreading her legs as she leaned back against the pole. As she pulled herself upright, her hand brushed over the chains, causing them to make a distinct sound that was usually associated with Turian female lingerie. It was like she  _planned_ to seduce a turian tonight!

"I'm here for the beer and the ball bustin' band, gonna get a little crazy, just because I can!" She tore her jacket off and tossed it to the side, twisting her leg around the pole and using it to turn to the other side of the stage, walking away from  _his_ side, swaying those much-wider-than-turian hips. 

"You know I'm here for the party. And I ain't leavin' 'til they throw me out." She almost spoke this part, her voice almost breathless. It mimicked the gasping breaths of sex, and,  _Spirits_ , it was getting to him. 

"Gonna have a lil fun, gonna get me some!" She did this-this  _thing_ with her  _hips._ Oh,  _Spirits!_

"You know I'm here..." She paused, reaching out a hand to the other patrons and giving a come hither crook of the finger. She abruptly turned, grabbing the pole and leaping up, holding the metal between her thighs and ankles, now facing his side of the bar again. 

"I'm here for the party!" She sang, sticking out a leg and angling backwards, giving the audience a show of flexibility as she curled her back and did a backflip off the pole. Still facing his side of the bar, she walked forward to the edge of the stage, each step going with the beat. His eyes naturally latched onto her waist, which seemed so much smaller with her wide hips and breasts. 

"I may not be a ten, but the boys say I clean up good." She sang, raising her arms up and swinging her head to the side, causing her hair to flutter out dramatically. He cleared his throat as he took another sip of his drink.

"And if I give'em half a chance for some rowdy romance, you know they would." She sang throwing a sassy wink out to the crowd as her hands slid down the front of her body. 

"I've been waitin' all week just to have a good time, so bring on them cowboys, and their pick-up lines!" She pointed with two fingers at him, her thumb up in the air and she jerked it in a gun like fashion. He chuckled. She knew she had been giving him a good show, alright.

"You know I'm here for the party. And I ain't leavin' 'til they throw me out." There was that breathy voice again, and if a Turian  _could_ blush, he  _would have._ Too bad for her it was physically impossible, so he took a sip of his drink and raised a brow at her as if in challenge. She took it. She ran with it. 

And much later, hours after she left, and after trying and failing to find someone- _anyone_ -half as interesting as her, he went back to his apartment. 

Where he thought of her waist and that rolling of her hips for quite some time.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here For The Party-Gretchen Wilson
> 
> That's right, this is a country Shepard! XD


	3. Chapter 3

Garrus Vakarian met Athena a third time only two days after her little show at Chora's Den. 

It wasn't as if he'd meant to meet her. Hell, he didn't think much of anything when he was called to investigate a Krogan disturbance in the Presidium. Krogan disturbances were frequent, and, usually it was just a Krogan talking to some poor sap who was frightened by the mere mention of their species. Or a prejudice by stander who didn't understand that they had Krogans on the Citadel--frequently. 

What he didn't expect was to see Shepard being held in the air with one hand, sitting perfectly comfortably on the palm of said Krogan. Reading a book. On a chair. In a blue and gold button down uniform. 

He...didn't know what to make of this. The Krogan was speaking to a human, smirking as he had his discussion, and Shepard simply turned to the next page of her book, seemingly enthralled in the contents. 

What...was happening here?   
  
It wasn't until much later that Shepard was set down by the Krogan, after the other human had left, and pat her shoulder in a companionable way. "You have my thanks, human. Let me know if you're ever close by, I'll buy you a drink!" 

"Nothing to it, big guy, just had to sit pretty and read. I'll take a coffee, though, if you're in the mind to be buyin' a girl a drink." Shepard said, not even looking up as she flipped another page. "I may take my next shore leave to see what you've been up to."

"Hah! I'll buy you your coffee. I'll be at..." He looked at his Omnitool. "Elysium. There'll be plenty of downtime there."

"Good to know!" Shepard said as he went over to the coffee shop they were outside of and sent the asari there some creds, pointing towards Shepard as he ordered. When he walked back out, he gave the small human a farewell pat on her head and she waved him off. "See ya at Elysium."

After the Krogan left, Garrus strode forward and cleared his throat. Shepard looked up briefly and grinned. 

"I was wondering when C-Sec would be called. Krogan disturbance I'm guessing?" She asked and he gave a small chuckle.

"We figured it was nothing, helping the merc get a job?" He asked and she nodded. 

"He asked if he could lift my chair--at first I didn't realize he wanted to with me still on it! It was all good fun, really. He's off to Elysium on guard duty for a civilian family that can apparently afford his wages. He'll be off the citadel for at least four weeks." 

"Well, that'll make the boss happy." Garrus rumbled out, leaning over and taking a look at her book. "What are you reading?" 

"Alfred Tennyson. This part is Ulysses. Classic human poetry, from before space travel. I'm not exactly sure when it was written, to be honest. A friend of mine gave me this for down time a few days ago. We ship off tomorrow, so I guess this will be our last meeting for a while." She said, closing her book and setting it in her lap as a sales clerk came out and handed her a coffee. 

"Thank you!" She said to the man before he nodded and rushed off to get back to work. Shepard shook her head. "Everyone's always rushing around, never stopping to enjoy the moment." She paused and looked up at him. "Though, you seem to take it easy."

Garrus shrugged. "No sense in rushing around until they put me on some important task." He said, straightening up. "Though I do need to report that there was no trouble, and fill out the paperwork."

"Ugh. Paperwork."

Garrus chuckled. "I share the sentiment. I'll leave you be, good luck on your assignment, Shepard."

"Yeah, hope you get that promotion soon, Vakarian."

He paused mid-turn before looking down at her with a grin. "You can call me Garrus, Shepard."

"Then by all means, Athena. Good bye, Garrus. I'll try to catch you at the bar next time I'm here."

"Good bye, Athena."

And with that, they parted ways, both sure they would bump into each other again.


End file.
